Sun 1 Apr 2007
Carlton on Vanstone
Posted by jangari under Politics
[4] Comments
This was the postscript to Mike Carlton’s regular Saturday column in the Herald:
FRANKLY, I don’t give a hoot that Amanda Vanstone spent $54,000 of taxpayers’ money on Chinese language lessons when she was immigration minister. I think it was a very good thing. If she can now natter away in Mandarin half as well as, say, Kevin Rudd, it was public money well spent.
As I wrote here two weeks ago, the ignorance of Asian languages in this country is a national disgrace. So far as I am aware, not one member of the federal ministry can order so much as a bowl of rice or a girl for the night in Indonesian, Mandarin or Japanese, let alone conduct a polite conversation or a diplomatic negotiation with the northern neighbours. Rudd aside, the same goes for the Opposition.
But the scandal is worse in our schools and universities. Despairing academics write to tell me that Asian studies are withering on the vine. And one reason for this: when he was education minister, Brendan Nelson capriciously slashed federal funding for language teaching.
But now, as Defence Minister, somehow he can find $6 billion to buy Super Hornet fighters for the RAAF, an aircraft which has been bagged by retired senior air force officers as unsuitable for our defence needs.
This suggests we have our priorities badly skewed. We can bomb the Asians as needed, but we can’t talk to them.
To be frank, I could only agree more if he pointed out the ludicrousness of mandarin lessons costing $54,000.
April 1st, 2007 at 5:13 pm
Surely the most important point about the Vanstone scandal, which Carlton seems somehow unaware of, is that Vanstone CAN’T natter away in Mandarin, and so it WASN’T money well spent.
That said, his point relating to Indonesian was quite valid.
Most Chinese and Japanese leaders though, I think, also rely entirely on translators, so it does run both ways.
In any event, he’s certainly right in criticising Nelson, and there’s no question of the disparity between education and defence spending.
Just this semester I had hours cut from an advanced Chinese class, thanks to that prick, and the only thing holding up our Russian department is the state labour government.
I just can’t escape feeling that Carlton has a bizarre ability to both state the bleeding obvious, ignore some of the other bleeding obvious, and end up contradicting himself.
Take that column for example. First he says that political extremism never gets in power, then he criticises our government for being extreme.
Still, regardless of consistency in his views, he’s certainly right about the latter to some extent.
April 2nd, 2007 at 8:49 am
You make valid points, Cooper. But overall, Carlton provides much needed leftist punditry to rival columnists like Devine, Henderson, Ackerman and McGuinness. The last of whom is pretty much solely responsible for the severe lack of funding to vital not-for-profit academic services like linguistic research through the ARC.
Also, after $54,000 you’d expect Vanstone to have at least some proficiency in Mandarin; she must just be an idiot.
April 2nd, 2007 at 12:37 pm
I heard her say somewhere that the money wasn’t all for ‘lessons’ but also included translation and interpreting services.
Which the government also ignore as an area worth investing in.
April 2nd, 2007 at 4:29 pm
I agree with you Aidhoss, I can’t stand Piers Ackerman in particular. He’s far more infuriating than Carlton, and far less consistent.
And you’re dead right about Vanstone being an idiot, I reached the same conclusion.
Just think, that Howard wants/wanted to make her our Ambassador to China. Ridiculous.